Everyone deals with textiles every day. Clothes, towels, curtains and carpets: they are all textiles. But what does the average wearer or user know about its origin? Or about the specific properties of wool and cotton, for example? And about how they have been used for centuries? In this book Henriette Beukers talks about handmade textiles from all sorts of countries and times, about how they were made and about the materials used. She does so in a relaxed and personal way, using her extensive textile collection. In doing so, she occasionally takes surprising "side roads" and highlights fascinating details. Around Textiles contains some 700 illustrations and deals with almost 200 pieces from her collection. The most diverse forms of handmade textiles are covered: from very ancient fabrics from Egypt and Peru to contemporary damask, and from the National Breakfast Sheet to a king's cloak from Nigeria.